The Film
When the remake of Footloose was first announced, it seemed like a sure sign of the apocalypse. Watching the actual film isn't as eye-gouging as one would expect, however. On the contrary, it's insanely familiar.
The new and improved Footloose isn't really new and improved at all. In fact, it's a little too close to the 1984 original. Some of the songs and scenarios have been updated, but for the most part, Footloose 2.0 is pretty faithful to the original story. Of course, it has plenty of subtle differences. Ren is from Boston (and played by Kenny Wormald), his mom is deceased, and a lot of the adults aren't as insane as they were back in the old days. There's also a bus-fueled demolition derby to replace the tractor chicken fights and somewhere the film manages to pack in an extra 5 minutes.
Director Craig Brewer didn't use his extra time for more dancing, that's for sure. Looking at trailers and even the Blu-ray cover art, Footloose seems more like an entry in the Step Up franchise, but with a more familiar soundtrack. Nothing could be further from the truth, though. This is Footloose, people; nothing more, nothing less.
Sluttiness aside, another puzzler is why someone would want to revisit the whole "no dancing" theme. In case you were wondering how Brewer breathes life into such an insane concept for a second time, the remake of Footloose has answers in its first few minutes. While the original mentions "the accident" in passing, Footloose 2011 kicks off with the town-changing event. If anything is to be learned by this, it's that Kenny Loggins, making out and driving don't mix. That's a no-brainer, but where the dancing comes in is anyone's guess.
Also, the remake doesn't go so far as to ban dancing altogether, but proclaims that there will be no dancing outside of school and church functions. So no dancing in public. That said, the tiny Footloose town does have its share of weed, demolition derby, car racing, and at least one iPod. With all of that, who the hell cares about dancing? No one. The Footloose remake is as pointless as you'd expect.
Want to tango with a real graceful dancer? Check out Karen Dahlstrom's theatrical review of Footloose.
The Picture
As we noted back in our 2011 review, Blu-ray was not exactly a friend to the original Footloose. Thankfully, Footloose 2.0 is way better looking than its predecessor, which is not all that surprising. After all, it's a newer film. It's a little grainy, but it's extremely good looking. There are some strong colors, which are actually most noticeable in Hough's pretty blue eyes. The detail is pretty nice as well, especially in the pores on Dennis Quaid's face.
The Sound
Like the image, this DTS-HD Master Audio track has a lot more excitement than its '80s inspiration. From the first moments of the film, the track delivers a nice crunch from the accident. There's also the demolition derby scene, plenty of feet stomping, and other surround sounds. Also impressive is the directionality throughout the film. There are a ton of noises zipping by that should keep your attention. Of course, there's also the music -- oh the music. The original Footloose was like one giant ad for a soon-to-be-successful soundtrack. This one actually manages to squeeze in a few new songs, and gives the whole soundtrack a much bolder, bigger presence than its predecessor.
The Extras
Footloose includes a decent amount of extras, with deleted scenes, music videos, and even a rap short. However, fans of both films will most appreciate director Craig Bower's commentary, the choreography short, and "Re-Imagining Footloose." The latter is the making-of featurette, which has cast and crew comparing this production versus the original, as well as talking up the music, the original VW bug, and more.
Final Thoughts
The Footloose remake isn't horrible; it's just completely unnecessary. It doesn't stray far enough from the original to come off as fresh. Dennis Quaid's preacher daddy notwithstanding, none of the new actors stands out enough to make this remake worth passing up Kevin Bacon, Chris Penn and the rest of the original cast. The AV, however, is a different story. That definitely improves upon the recent Blu-ray release -- and it should, considering it's a newer release.
Product Details
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